Dog walkers clean up fireworks mess

A dog walker strolls on the beach with his buddies before the fireworks

The detritus from the spectacular fireworks extravaganza off the Golden Gate Bridge on its 75th anniversary has apparently been washing up on Crissy Field and Baker Beach ever since Sunday’s celebration, according to beach goers.

It turns out many of those cleaning up the rubbish have been dog walkers, who have been battling accusations for years that they leave a different kind of litter on the beaches, courtesy of their pets.

Martha Walters, the chairwoman of the Crissy Field Dog Group, said pet owners strolling along Crissy Field and Baker Beach have cleaned up an “enormous amount” of litter, including hundreds of blasting caps, small pieces of plastic and singed cardboard, that “seems like it is firework debris.”

“I guess people forgot to think about the consequences on the environment from this event,” Walters wrote in an e-mailed letter to Frank Dean, the general superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The GGNRA’s draft dog management plan has deemed canines “a significant impact” and proposed banning them in many areas where they are now allowed to run off leash, a curious position, Walters said, given the organization’s eager participation in an activity that apparently fouled both the ocean and beaches.

“The dog walking community, which (has provided) thousands and thousands of doggie bags for the past ten years to ensure a clean Crissy Field, has been cleaning up your mess again,” Walters wrote to Dean. “Hmm, why is it that we are cleaning up your significant impact to the environment?”